Happy Birthday And Chocolate Cake Too!

Today our big girl is turning 6 years old. It has been a long road but she has made it. She has requested chocolate cake for dinner tonight (yes for dinner) but we will be having it for dessert. This recipe is one our family's favorites.

"Darn Good Chocolate Cake" from The Cake Mix Doctor... by Anne Byrn

Ingredients

Vegetable Oil Spray for misting the pan

Flour for dusting the pan

1 pkg (18.25 ounces) plain devil's food or dark chocolate fudge cake mix

1 pkg (3.9 ounces) chocolate instant pudding mix

4 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (11.5 ounce package)

* Optional - I add a sprinkle of powdered sugar on top once it is done.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 12-cup Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pan aside.

2. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, warm water, and oil in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 to 3 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thick and well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips, making sure they are well distributed throughout the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

3. Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a long knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto the rack to cool completely, 20 minutes more. Or invert it onto a serving platter to slice and serve while still warm. Optional - Sprinkle with powdered sugar before slicing.

Yum...I can't wait for dessert tonight!